What a girl's gotta do
by Apple Glass
Summary: Ophelia has a list of things to do before her first year at Henry L. Bergson Preparatory School ends, but they are not going to be easy. And getting good grades is the least of her concerns.
1. The new kid

**CHAPTER ONE: The new kid**

_I. Get a good and reliable group of friends._

_Alright, Ophelia, calm down, you'll be fine_, Ophelia Irving kept telling herself as she made her way through the classroom desks, trying to look normal while scanning a _fitting _empty space.

_There._

She sat down and shot a quick smile at the nearest classmate caring enough to spare her a look.

"Hi, I'm Martin Qwerly and I'm not new- well, technically we're all new but some of us know each other since middle school and some even pre-school! We've been friends for what feels like ages, and it's so cool that most of us ended up here- I guess our parents thought it was a good idea to put us on the nearest-to-home high school or we'd be taking long rides in the morning and afternoon. ¿Do you like long rides? I don't, I usually…"

Ophelia nodded and smiled on cue, seemingly taking in every little detail this Qwerly boy spouted. In reality, she was just scanning his chatter for relevant details while shooting furtive glances around to get a feel of the rest of the class.

"Hey there, CH!"

Another boy sat on an empty desk in front of Martin and waved at him. He brought a rather stark contrast to the conversation, as he seemed to be the ultra-silent kind.

"CH?" Ophelia asked, puzzled.

"Oh, that's short for 'Coconut Head'," Martin replied, eager to explain, "it's the nickname he's gone by all these years because of his haircut- it made him look like he had a coconut head, you know."

His head certainly did not look 'coconut-y' now. CH's hair was cut really short and gelled up in neat spikes. He looked rather good, Ophelia thought.

"That's kinda cruel…" she said, unsure whether to smile or not.

'CH' merely shrugged as someone used to be called that.

"So," Ophelia asked, "what's your actual name?"

'CH' and Martin looked back at her with surprise.

"Uh… did I say something wrong?"

"No, no," 'CH' spoke for the first time, "only that no one had ever asked that before, not even the teachers…"

Ophelia thought his teachers could not have been very good if they had not taken the trouble to find out a student's name.

"Robert," CH replied, with a somewhat shy smile, "but they used to call me Rob back at home, before the whole 'Coconut Head' thing…"

"Well, nice to meet you, Rob," Ophelia smiled, "I'm Ophelia Irving."

"Hi," Rob replied with the shy smile still on.

"Ophelia, that's a nice name. I used to have a cousin called Ophelia," Martin went on, "I guess I still do but I haven't seen her in years- you see, she moved to Alaska when her father got a job there- at first we'd email each other but then she got really busy with her AP levels and didn't have the time, and then-"

Ophelia tuned out Martin's endless drone while feigning attention. She scanned the room discreetly, trying to figure out what everyone else was on about.

_Hm, mostly boyfriend-girlfriend stuff_, she said, spotting a few couples behaving like they were alone in the world. There was a blonde girl at the other extreme of the room apparently engrossed in conversation with two similarly dressed girls, and they shot looks at a boy who looked rather out of his element; he was alone and no one would talk to him, and with good reason: he looked positively scary with a scowl and a black leather jacket.

"… and then Ned told me that I'd better start listening to what she had to say and she might start liking me and guess what- it worked!"

Ophelia was slightly jolted by the excitement of Martin's voice. She smiled with an interested look.

"So you've been dating ever since?" Rob asked.

"Yeah, and she's awesome!" Martin said, looking really happy.

"Does she go to this school?" Ophelia ventured to ask, hoping that topic had not been covered already.

"No, she goes to a private all-girls school, but we see each other every afternoon- well, as soon as she's done with her homework and special classes- her parents want her to reach her full potential so they've signed her up for several musical instruments since I can remember, and also…"

There was something bothering Ophelia. At first she could not pinpoint what, but there was certainly something she was missing. She could feel it, and when she felt something, it was usually true.

At that moment, the teacher walked in and everyone went back to their seats.

After a brief introduction, they were asked to take out their books and read out loud in turns. Ophelia zoomed out; she had already covered that book and judged it a waste of time to concentrate on it again.

But it was not as if she was going to be amused just by not listening. It was a new environment, a whole new experience to absorb, a new place to make acquaintances, friends, and perhaps…

Ophelia looked away to hide her smile. She had thought that this year was it: she was getting a cute, smart and overall _awesome _boyfriend, or her name was not Ophelia Sydelle Irving.

Trying to look attentive, Ophelia rested her chin on the back of her hand and threw a subtle glance around the room: there were several cute boys in her class. The girl could not help but notice a couple of possible boyfriend prospects for her; there was the blonde, grumpy guy at the back, who seemed clearly as little concentrated as her in the reading; there was also a really attractive blue-eyed boy exchanging notes with a black boy wearing glasses; they did it as a second nature without being caught a single time by the teacher.

Ophelia recognized the boy as one of the _involved _ones; he had been looking rapturously into the brown eyes of the girl sitting to his left.

_Note-boy's taken, _Ophelia thought, shrugging mentally, _but who knows? Maybe they'll break up soon or something…_

She discarded him for the moment and turned, metaphorically, to the grumpy boy.

_He sure looks like a bully… I wonder if it's worth the try?_

The person in front of her started reading and Ophelia began to pay attention. It would not do to look like an idiot on her first day at this new school.

* * * * *

"Hey guys, why don't we team up for the English project? Mr. Reed said to group in threes, and since there's three of us…"

It was fine by Ophelia. Keeping people around would mean she was not a lonely weirdo, even if her associates were not exactly popular material. That would come later, she thought.

Rob nodded his agreement and so did Ophelia. There was no need for them to say anything else. Martin carried the whole weight of the conversation on his own and, apparently, without any effort.

"Great! So, what book do you think we should pick? I had thought that maybe…"

Ophelia tagged along with Rob and Martin to the next class, in which they happened to be together.

"So you brought back Le Forge for the job?"

She had lost track of the conversation overruled by Martin, but Rob's reply caught her attention.

"LeForge?" Ophelia asked, coming out of her mind. She missed the smile Rob and Martin shared which had more to it than mere agreement.

"Eh, well, I…"

It was surprising to see Martin unable to find words to fill an empty space with.

"He used to know this guy who could forge anything," Rob replied, "and when Lily needed some help with a bad report card that needed signing, well… good old Martin tracked the guy down to help her."

"Oh, I see," replied Ophelia, not seeing it. It was clear Rob was lying, but she did not push the issue any further.

"Anyway, that was after I asked her how she was doing, and she asked me if I could help her, eh… track that guy down, but if I hadn't asked, maybe we wouldn't be dating right now."

"Yeah, I guess that was probably a good idea," Ophelia replied, slightly unsure of what to say.

"Well, that's our Ned," Rob added. "It was actually him who phoned me back in summer vacation and told me to get this haircut," Rob said, pointing at his hair. "He said it probably wouldn't stop the people who knew me from calling me 'Coconut Head', but as that wouldn't make sense to any new person I'd meet, they'd start calling me by my real name, and maybe one day I'd stop being known as 'Coconut Head'."

"And it worked, at least on me," Ophelia replied, smiling widely. "So, who's this Ned?" she asked, with interest.

"A friend of ours," Martin replied, "he's not here at the moment, I guess he didn't take this course, but he'll probably be on the next one, or we could point him at you at lunch, or-"

"And you say he gives advice?" Ophelia cut Martin's chatter.

"He's got this guide thing he's been writing on for a while with tips on how to survive school and stuff like that," Martin replied.

"Really good stuff," added Rob.

"Hm."

_That was some good advice, Ophelia_ thought. She had not thought it possible for a boy her age to display that amount of common sense.

_That's it! That's what was bothering me!_

"This is the same Ned that told you to listen to your girlfriend?" Ophelia asked, after she remembered something from their earlier conversations.

"Yeah, that was him!" Martin replied, nodding eagerly.

"He seems smart," Ophelia said.

_And certainly worth meeting, _she thought, eager for their Algebra I class to be over, which was a pity, since it was one of her favorite subjects.

* * * * *

"Over there, that's Ned, with Moze!"

_Just my luck, _thought Ophelia when Martin pointed at the blue-eyed boy from earlier.

The _taken _blue-eyed boy from earlier.

Ophelia eyed the boy called Ned. He sure was cute, but was also really into his girlfriend, judging from the way they held hands over the lunch table and looked at each other with adoring eyes.

"You called her Moze, what's that short for?"

"Mosely," replied Martin, "but her name's Jennifer, but we call her 'Moze' because there were four Jennifers in first grade and Ned made up that nickname for her to avoid confusion, and it stuck, and now they're dating, but it's recent- I think they started dating at the end of last year, right, CH?"

"Yeah, it was on our field trip to the Huffington Gardens, or so I heard…"

"Wait, wasn't Ned with Suzie when we went there?"

"Suzie?" Ophelia asked.

"Yeah, Ned's crush since fourth grade, or second… or something, but he dated her for a while and then she left the school but then she came back and they resumed their dating, but apparently Moze also liked Ned, and Ned liked her back, too, but they couldn't be together because of Suzie and… I don't really know what happened."

"Hm," was all Ophelia could say. _For a couple of average-looking boys, they surely gossip like girls, _she thought.

"And where's Suzie now?" Ophelia asked to shift the topic away from Ned and Moze.

"I heard she went to a private school at the other side of town," replied Rob.

Martin shot him a puzzled look.

"How do you know that?"

"Our parents play tennis on Sundays," he replied simply.

"Oh."

"Guys, who's that one over there?" Ophelia asked them.

The grumpy, attractive blonde boy from class had joined the lunch line, looking, of all things, lost.

"That's Billy Loomer," replied Rob, "former bully and soon-to-be-bullied-by-the-older-kids, we hope!"

"Yeah!" added Rob with enthusiasm.

Ophelia was surprised to see this display of emotion from Rob.

"He must have picked a lot on you…"

"Yeah, on us," Martin replied for both, "but not anymore. His cronies are not with him anymore, and as long as we keep a low profile, the bullies here are more likely to notice him, since he's taller and, well, he does call attention more than us, and bully him and, who knows, maybe he'll finally know the hell he gave us all those years!"

Ophelia was not sure that was how things worked but decided against taking that tiny shred of hope from Martin and Rob.

She observed Billy as he slid his tray, picking food. He looked downcast, and… sad? Ophelia wondered briefly how it would feel to have power for a while and then be stripped off it by the passing of time. It probably did not feel good.

"Excuse me, can we talk to you?"

Ophelia looked at the source of the shrill, demanding voice. It was the blonde she had observed gossiping earlier and her two cronies.

"Sure, what is it?" Ophelia replied.

"In private," she said, shooting dirty looks at Martin and Rob.

_What, seriously? _Ophelia could not help thinking.

She got up and followed them to a corner.

"Okay, here's the thing: we noticed you from the moment you walked into English class and knew you had to be part of our group. You are good-looking, dress very well and, if you are the tiniest bit smart, you must know strength lies in numbers. So, are you in?"

_In, as in…?_

"I'm confused…" Ophelia judged better to feign temporary stupidity to make them reveal themselves.

"It's not that hard!" replied the blonde, "you hang with us instead of those losers and we make you popular! It's a treat we're offering you!"

Ophelia had a few choice words she would have liked to share with this girl, but knew she had to keep it shut… for the moment.

"Uh, what's your name?"

The blonde sighed with exasperation.

"I'm Missy," she replied, "and these are Kara and Courtney. Anything else you want answered?"

"Nice to meet you, all, I'm Ophelia Irving," she smiled, reaching out a hand to Missy.

Missy pursed her lips and gave her a 'yeah, right' look.

Ophelia withdrew her hand with a scared look. She hoped with all her strength that they bought it.

"OK, Ophelia, you've bought yourself some time but just because that senior over there is eyeing me," Missy replied, offering the senior a sugary smile. "But when classes end, we'll be waiting at the main entrance for an answer, and it better be 'yes, I'll devote my life to you Missy', understand?"

Ophelia nodded and the girls left.

As she got back to her table, Martin and Rob shared a look.

"We heard the whole thing," Rob said, to Ophelia's surprise, "and we'll understand if you decide to go with them. After all, we'd do it if we had the chance."

"Yeah, we would," said Martin, dejectedly.

Ophelia gave the boys a look.

_What to do, what to do…_

"Guys, don't worry," she finally said with a devious smile. "I have a plan."


	2. Missy & Co

**CHAPTER TWO: Missy & Co.**

_II. Move up in the food chain._

"I see you did the right thing."

Missy's arrogant voice greeted Ophelia at the main door as the girl met her and her cronies.

"It was the only choice I had, wasn't it?" Ophelia replied.

"True," Missy said, examining her nails.

"Where now?" asked Courtney, visibly bored.

"Your house, of course," Missy replied, walking down the stairs without looking back.

Clearly, everyone was meant to follow her. Kara and Courtney almost tripped over themselves to keep up with their leader.

"I was kinda hoping we could go to the mall," said Kara, "I wanted to check out some clothes I need."

"We'll go tomorrow," replied Missy, "I'm in the mood for magazine quizzes today."

Ophelia went with them in silence. She was busy absorbing every little detail from the situation she had thrown herself in.

"Say, Courtney," Missy asked, settling comfortably at the passenger seat in Courtney's red convertible, "that hot pool boy of yours, he comes today, right?"

Courtney smiled without taking her eyes off the road. Kara giggled at the back seat at Ophelia's questioning glance.

"Ah, now I see why you wanted to go to my house today," Courtney replied. "Yes, he comes today at four. I'll ask the maid to bring us refreshments to the pool area, then."

"That's my girl," replied Missy with a triumphant smile.

_Just where exactly does this Courtney live?_

Courtney took a left into a smaller street after driving for ten minutes, and drove five more before getting to a tall, iron-wrought gate, which opened at her arrival.

It was an impressive, manor-like house with a huge water fountain in front of the main door. Courtney jumped off the car and threw the keys to a man in a white uniform. He waited for the other girls to get off and took the car away.

They followed Courtney into the house, looking for all things as if it belonged to all of them; Missy seemed the most confident; she did not even look at the servants who bowed at their arrival and kept on chatting about the last number of her favorite magazine and the pictures of some 'very hot boys' featured on the front.

Ophelia imitated them while keeping her eyes from going from side to side to absorb everything around. There was plenty to look at: there were sculptures, paintings, elaborate and expensive-looking carpets, and the chandelier over the dining hall seemed bigger than the chairs around the table. The black marble floor shine was almost blinding, and Ophelia wished she had not worn heels that day, since it was also slippery. It was a relief when they finally arrived to the definitely-less-polished tiled floor at the pool area.

Courtney picked up the house intercom and pressed a button.

"Greta, bring us some drinks and snacks to the pool and my magazines, only this month's editions."

"We need to have a party here," Missy said, taking off her coat and hanging it carefully on the back of her chair. "When's your parents' next trip?"

"Not for two more months," replied Courtney, settling down on a chair.

"Pity," replied Missy, leaning back and putting on a pair of sunglasses, "we should have grabbed the last chance we had, if only you weren't such a coward."

"It was self-preservation," replied Courtney. "They called my aunt to stay here, she would have told my parents and they'd have taken my credit card for a month!"

Missy did not look convinced, but she did not pursue the matter either.

"So, Ophelia," Missy turned to face her instead, "you weren't at Polk, where did you go?"

"Call me Phil," Ophelia smiled, "and I went to school in Wisconsin. My parents and I moved here recently."

"Phil?" Missy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Ophelia said. "It started out as a joke back home, and now all my family calls me that. It sounds weird to hear my whole name, all grown-up and stuff."

"Right," said Missy, "so you moved here? How come?"

Somehow, her questions sounded more like an interrogation than friendly curiosity.

"My dad got a better job," replied Ophelia simply.

"I don't let my parents drag me around for work reasons," said Courtney. "They can travel all they want, for all I care. Besides, it's better this way: I have the house to myself and nobody gets in my way."

"Yeah, I wish my parents travelled more," added Kara.

Missy merely smiled.

Refreshments and magazines were brought a few minutes later, and the girls entertained themselves with them for a good part of the afternoon.

Ophelia wondered if these girls were going to do their homework at some point in the afternoon, especially when the handsome pool boy came and every other activity was forgotten in a rush of giggles and failed attempts to look cool. He was handsome, Ophelia thought, but a little bit too old for them; Missy did not seem to mind it much, and she became increasingly flirty with him, all of which seemed to please the young man.

Ophelia tried to fit it as hard as possible, but at times it was downright impossible, and more out of boredom than worry, she made up a lie to escape that place.

"Girls, I'm gonna have to leave," she said, reading a text message that had just arrived to her cellphone. "My mom says an aunt got an accident or something, and we have to go see her at the hospital."

"Is she OK?" asked Kara, with concern.

"Yeah, I don't think it's that serious," replied Ophelia, "but she's got no one else to visit her."

A maid in a black and white uniform arrived at that moment.

"Miss Ophelia's mother is here," she said, bowing.

Ophelia almost rushed to the door after saying goodbye to her _friends._

_*****  
_

"Hope you had fun in there."

Ophelia's mother did not look very pleased that her daughter had not gone home as soon as school finished.

"I said I was sorry," Ophelia said, clipping her seatbelt. "I'm not grounded, am I?"

Her mother gave her an odd look and changed the subject.

"Ate anything?"

Ophelia nodded.

"Just snacks and fizzy drinks…"

"Oh, Lord…" her mother said, looking concerned.

"Calm down, mom," Ophelia replied, "I checked the ingredients and everything."

She had not, but her mother did not need to know that.

"But what if something sneaks in there? You know how your allergies are! "

"Yeah, I know," Ophelia replied, getting ready for another 'you don't take enough care for yourself' lecture, "I'm fine, mom, you can see it yourself."

"But it can happen later or, God forbid, while you're asleep, and you won't be able to reach us!"

Ophelia sighed. No matter how many times she had heard the same arguments, it was annoying every single time.

"Then what do you want, mom? Should I take my bed to you and dad's bedroom? Or maybe, I should sleep in your bed so you're right there in case I need assistance at an ungodly hour!"

Her mother gave her a shocked expression before turning quickly to watch the road.

"You don't know how it is to live with this worry…" she said, without looking at her daughter.

"I know, mom," Ophelia replied, "I'm sorry, but I'm not a baby anymore, OK? I can take good care of myself."

Her mother just blinked back tears.

*****

Once in her bedroom, Ophelia logged into her email.

_Let's see… ah, here it is._

She took out a piece of paper with Martin and Rob's email addresses and wrote a quick email to both of them.

"_Hey guys, sorry I had to ditch you today but I promise you we're still doing the English thing together. Send me your book suggestions if you have them and I'll send you mine as soon as I think of something…_

Ophelia stopped writing. There was no easy way to say what came next. She fiddled with the mouse cord for a while before making up her mind.

"_And… guys? It's better if I send you my part of the work via email, I mean, to keep things digital and all… you know, to avoid printing unnecessary stuff. Gotta keep them trees alive for the sake of the planet, don't we, lol."_

Biggest lie she had ever said. And really painful. But necessary.

Ophelia could not help but close her eyes before clicking 'Send'.

*****

It was difficult to face Martin and Rob the next day. The boys waved a sad hello to Ophelia at the hall and she had to ignore it since Missy & Co. were nearby.

"… and I called him yesterday," Missy went on, "and he said he was free this Saturday!"

Courtney and Kara giggled and cheered at Missy's news that she had extricated a date out of the handsome pool boy as they got into English class.

"Isn't he, you know, a little bit too old?" Ophelia asked.

The three girls gave her incredulous stares.

"Older guys are the best of all," Missy said, "unlike the immature losers we have to take classes with. I'm sure you know all about it, since you befriended two of them," she waved derisively to Martin and Rob.

"Yeah, sure, immature losers," Ophelia said, trying to overcome the sudden disgust Missy's gesture had caused in her, "don't remind me, I'm stuck with them for English project."

"What? Impossible!"

"Yeah," Ophelia said, "and I'm sure I can't get in your group since Mr. Reed said only three students per group…"

Missy and her cronies had not even thought of the English project, but all put up their sorry faces. They were happy to have been given an easy way out of not being able to include Ophelia in their group.

"So, do you have any idea what you're going to do?" Ophelia asked, happy to change the subject.

"Uh, no, we don't," Kara said.

"What a drag…" added Courtney.

"Girls, we won't have to do it at all," Missy sentenced, after some contemplation.

Ophelia felt a chill down her spine.

"The losers will do it for us," she added as if informing them that the sky was blue.

"Excellent idea!" Courtney approved, clapping.

"But how are you going to make them do it?" asked Kara.

"Don't worry, I will," Ophelia said, "I have to deal with them anyway."

Missy smiled contentedly and went back to her fashion magazine.

*****

Ophelia sighed sweet relief when the bell rang and she could escape into her Forensic Science class from Missy & Co. She had been caught the day before in a flurry of notes passed around, bearing the most idiotic comments. Missy had thought Anatomy was too boring to focus on and had started the round, happily followed by her friends. Ophelia had had to fake interest in what they had to say. She had entertained herself by mentally adding a sarcastic tone to all her written replies; it had kept her from pulling her own hairs off.

_Finally a break, _thought Ophelia, walking into the classroom. She had been eagerly expecting her first class on this subject ever since she knew it was available for students after ninth grade, and that was five years ago. So she happily grabbed a seat at the front row, around the middle of the class.

"Hi, you're Ophelia, right?"

Ophelia turned around to the friendly voice.

"Hi- yeah, I'm Ophelia," she smiled. "You're… Moze, right?"

The brown-eyed girl smiled. "Damn. I was kinda wishing people started calling me by my first name…"

"No problem," Ophelia replied, "it's Jennifer, isn't it?"

Jennifer smiled.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Ophelia smiled. "Martin."

"Oh, I see."

The girls fell silent.

"You know, I did not expect to see you here," Jennifer said, "since you seemed to adapt so well to Missy's group..."

Ophelia felt the trap ahead. What could she possibly say now to avoid giving herself up?

"I'm just… socializing, you know… since I don't know anyone else…"

"Right," Jennifer replied, unconvinced.

"But between you and me," Ophelia said, "it's refreshing to have a conversation that doesn't include boys, clothes or skipping school to hit a mall."

Jennifer smiled, nodding.

"But do call me Phil," Ophelia added, "Ophelia sounds too… grown-up."

"OK, _Phil_," Jennifer said. "I think Ophelia is a beautiful name, but anyway."

Ophelia smiled. Seemed Science would be fun, even beyond the subject itself, after all.

*****

Ophelia and Jennifer walked together to their Pre-calculus class when Forensic Science ended. Once again, Jennifer was surprised to see Ophelia take that class, but refrained from telling her so.

"… and whatever remains, however improbable-"

"… must be the truth," Jennifer finished Ophelia's sentence. "Sherlock Holmes," she added.

"Yeah! I love his stories," Ophelia said excitedly.

"Me too, they're so brilliant," Jennifer said. "I've been trying to get Ned to read them, but he wouldn't listen, and I'm sure he'd love them, too."

"Ned is your boyfriend, right?" asked Ophelia.

"Yeah, you've seen him?"

"Well," Ophelia said, smiling, "it's hard not to notice you guys…"

Jennifer blushed slightly.

"Yeah, we can be very… affectionate."

Ophelia giggled.

"Well, I wouldn't call tonsil hockey mere 'affection'…"

"Shut up," Jennifer said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

*****

Lunch time meant a particularly sad goodbye. Ophelia wanted with all her strength to join Jennifer's group instead of heading to Missy's, but she had to stick to her plan. After all, she had good reasons to do so.

"Listen, we've been talking," Missy told Ophelia, "whether to go to the music store to check out on that hot new counter guy, or to go to the clothes store first to try on the new stuff, what d'you think?"

"I'm sorry, guys, but I can't go with you today," Ophelia replied, feigning remorse, "sick aunt thing, you know…"

"I can't believe you're ditching us to go see a sick woman," Courtney replied.

"I didn't want to, but my mom insisted, and if I don't do it, it's one month without a cellphone!"

The girls agreed that it was a serious issue.

"Anyway, there's no point in asking you, then," said Missy, "and since the vote was two to one on checking out the hot guy, we win. Sorry, Kara."

Kara looked morose. For a split second, Ophelia felt like ditching her 'sick aunt thing' just to spite Missy, but she was not sure if she'd be able to resist an afternoon full of frivolous conversation.

*****

The truth was, Ophelia wanted to get as quickly as possible to her first Science project. It was only too appropriate: human decomposition. The girl sat at her computer and _Googled _the topic, saving every disgusting picture she could and printing the worst of them, along with pages and pages of theory and explanations. She proceeded to pin the prints to a large message board over her desk.

_Perfect, she_ thought, smiling wickedly. _Let's see what the girls think of my 'décor'._

She had invited Missy & Co. to her house the next day and anticipated a few gags at the sight of rotting human flesh and squiggling worms.

Still smiling, Ophelia opened another tab to check her email.

_What the…?_

A message she did not expect at all was just sitting there, waiting to be opened.


End file.
